More Preschoolers Showing up to Dentists with 10 Cavities or More

(CBS News) A report from The New York Times says dentists around the country are seeing an uptick in preschool-age patients with multiple cavities - sometimes more than 10 - that require surgery under anesthia because the decay is so severe.

"The most severe cases have 12 or 16, which is seen several times a week," Dr. Megann Smiley, a dentist-anesthesiologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, told the Times. For these children with severe cases of tooth decay, dentists turn to general anasthesia since it is unlikely a child will sit through drillings on multiple teeth.